SATURDAY 03 AUGUST, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Shubhanshu Shukla X.com/TheMornStandard ASTRONAUTS SHUBHANSHU SHUKLA, PRASANTH NAIR FOR ISS MISSION US PREZ RACE Two Gaganyaan astronauts have been picked to fly to the International Space Station in collaboration with a US-based space firm KAMALA HARRIS TO TAKE ON TRUMP ISRO SIGNS PACT WITH AXIOM SPACE INC. Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured enough votes from Democratic delegates to officially be the party’s nominee to run for the President’s office A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  WAYANAD LANDSLIDES TOLL CROSSES 300; OVER 200 STILL UNTRACEABLE Sniffer dogs, thermal radar add to search, rescue efforts J8.00 ISRO on Friday said its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with Houston-based Axiom Space Inc for its Axiom-4 mission to the ISS. A National Mission Assignment Board has recommended two ‘gaganyatris’ — Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair — as prime mission pilot and backup, respectively PAGES 12  STRANDED FAMILY OF 4 RESCUED 49 KIDS MISSING At least 49 children are either missing or dead, Kerala’s education minister V Sivankutty said. He said the govt higher secondary school at Vellarimala has been completely destroyed MOTION AGAINST SHAH The Congress on Friday moved a privilege motion against Home Minister Amit Shah over his ‘misleading’ statements in the Rajya Sabha on early warnings to Kerala govt M A N O J V I S W A N AT H A N JITENDRA CHOUBEY @ New Delhi 56,825.7 (in square kilometres) 449 Gujarat Maharashtra 17,340 1,461 Goa Karnataka 20,668 6,914 s DAYS after the Wayanad disaster, the Union environment ministry has issued a fresh draft notification declaring 56,825.70 sq km of the Western Ghats spread across six states, including 13 villages in Wayanad, as Ecological Sensitive Area (ESA). The draft notification prohibits mining, thermal power plants, ‘red’ category industries specified by Central Pollution Control Board, building, construction, townships and area development projects in the specified ESA. The area being covered in the notification is less than the 59,940 square km recommend- WESTERN GHATS ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREA Total area ed by a High-Level Working Group in 2013. The group’s report was sent to the six states through which the Western Ghats traverse — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — for their views. Only Kerala conducted physical verification of the identified areas. The other states are yet to complete physical verifications. The ministry has so far issued five draft notifications, but final notification is pending due to objections from the states. For example, the ESA recommendation for Kerala was 13,108 sq km but the state accepted only 9,993.7 sq km. The latest notification invites suggestions and objections within 60 days. at THE Delhi High Court on Friday directed the CBI to take over the investigation into the death of three UPSC aspirants at a flooded IAS coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar. Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela transferred the probe from the police to the CBI, citing a lack of concrete action against MCD officials. “Given the gravity of the incident and potential involvement of public servants, this court transfers the investigation to CBI,” said the bench. The Central Vigilance Commission is tasked with supervising the probe and has been directed to appoint a senior officer to oversee the process. The HC criticised the MCD and the government for systemic failures. “We believe it is time to reassess everything. There is a deeper issue here,” remarked Justice Manmohan. The case stems from a PIL that has demanded a high-level probe. The HC scrutinised the safety certification process of the premises, highlighting discrepancies in the inspection report. The HC questioned the police about the students trapped in the basement and why they couldn’t escape. P3 Centre issues fresh notification to declare 56K sq km Western Ghats as eco-sensitive Gh S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi Army personnel pull out a mangled car at Vellarimala near Chooralmala on Friday | A SANESH We s t e r n there is no one stranded in these places. We are checking the houses filled with debris to WITH the Bailey bridge im- find whether anyone is strandproving connectivity the search ed inside. We are using thermal , teams on Friday managed to radars to check for signs of life. reach the remote areas of Mun- More excavators have arrived dakkai and Chooralmala of and that has helped us dig up landslide-hit Wayanad with places from where we get signecessary equipment. Looking nals,” said an officer. for survivors, they dug up The sniffer dogs brought by mounds of debris. the Army and the K9 squad of Meanwhile, the Army and a police are also helping recover search team comprising volun- bodies from debris. On Thursteers rescued a four-member day, sniffer dig Maya of the family stranded at their house state police identified eight at Padavettikunnu, places at Vellarimaon the upper region la, and seven bodies OFFICIAL TALLY of Mundakkai on and a body part Friday. The rescue As many as 210 people were found from team was checking have died and 273 were the spot. On Friday , injured in the massive the houses in Pathe sniffer dog idenlandslides that hit davettikunnu for tified many locasurvivors when Wayanad district in the tions, including a wee hours of July 30. they found the famhouse near ChooAdditionally, 134 body ily in the house. ralmala where four parts were also In the evening, bodies were found hope briefly flick- recovered, according to under a slab inside the Kerala Health ered as ther mal the house. Department scanners detected On Friday, the signs of life under search was mainly the debris near a culvert. The centred at Vellarimala, from search operations continued where 50 bodies were found, areven after nightfall, but no eas behind the Chooralmala h u m a n p r e s e n c e c o u l d government school, and the upbe detected. per reaches of Mundakkai. The On day four of the calamity, teams have searched the entire 11 more bodies were recovered 8 km stretch, including Atfrom Mundakkai and Chooral- tamala, Mundakkai, Punjirmala, and three from Nilambur. imattom, Vellarimala village According to sources, the toll road, GVHSS Vellarimala and in the landslides has crossed the riverbed. 300, with more than 200 still Major General V T Mathew, missing. The government tally , leading the Army team, exhowever, is 210. pressed satisfaction over the “The search teams reached pace of rescue operation. He even the remote areas of Mun- said the coordination between dakkai and Chooralmala, and forces was excellent. P5 @ Chooralmala (Wayanad) CBI will probe coaching centre deaths, says HC Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair Tamil Nadu Kerala 9,993.7 ASHA KIRAN Food, water or both? What led to deaths? A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi A report compiled by the Chief Medical Officer at the Medical Care Unit of the Asha Kiran shelter home revealed that of the 14 mysterious deaths of the inmates reported in July, nine exhibited symptoms of diarrhea and difficulty in breathing, and most of them died on the same day or the next day of hospitalisation. Asha Kiran is the only facility run by the Department of Social Welfare for rehabilitation of mentally disabled patients. Among the patients, a 14-yearold was admitted to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital (BSAH) on July 17 with complaints of loose motion. He died the same day while receiving treatment. Another case is of a female inmate aged 25 years. She complained of difficulty in breathing. With bouts of vomiting, she was admitted to the hospital on July 15 and died the same day . According to the medical report, 14 deaths occurred between July 1 and 28. Health department sources said the situation indicated a disease outbreak whose pathogen is virulent, adding that the inmates were immune-compromised due to co-morbidities. “Majority of the deceased complained of loose motion, vomiting, and fever before their death. Multiple factors could be at play including laxity in han, dling primary treatment by the medical unit of the shelter home,” said a senior health department official. NCW chief Rekha Sharma indicated an epidemic at the facility, citing an e-mail from one of the staff posted there on July 21. A BSAH doctor said food or water contamination could be the reason for deaths as during medical investigation, he encountered inmates complaining of eating fungus-laden food. A report by the SDM Rohini raised questions about the quality of drinking water. L-G, city govt order separate probes into inmates’ deaths The L-G and the Delhi government have ordered separate inquiries into deaths of inmates at Asha Kiran. L-G VK Saxena called for compensation for the families of the deceased and also demanded immediate action against the facility’s administrator and a white paper on the operations of all shelter homes run by the social welfare department. On the other hand, the government announced a magisterial probe. With a 48-hour deadline for the preliminary probe report, Atishi said any negligence will result in stringent action. SUMMER GAMES MANU, SEN & HOCKEY TEAM BRING CHEER H ISTORY is shadowing her right from the day she started the qualification round in the 10 m air pistol a week ago. On Friday , she has a tryst with history again. The focus is on Manu Bhaker at the shooting ranges in Chateauroux once again. She is on the cusp of glory that will propel her as the greatest Indian athlete. A third medal at the Olympics, a feat that no Indian ever attempted before. Not even in their dreams. What will make the win, if she finishes in the top three on Saturday even more incredible is the fact , she has two medals already She entered her third . final, the first shooter to do so in one Olympics. Maintaining such levels of concentration in an Olympics doesn’t seem human. Going by the qualification round, where she hit the 10s with such precision, she would start as one of the favourites in the final of the 25 m pistol. For Manu, this is the kind of performance that could have silenced her critics forever. She cried after al- TMS @ OLYMPICS most every qualification round — she did qualify in all of the events she entered — and it will be cathartic if she can win medals in all the INDRANEEL DAS events she has entered. On the other hand, the Indian PARIS men’s hockey team has also caused a major upset in the group game against Australia. They beat a team they have not won against in the last 52 years. India 3-2 Australia. The big news was saved for later when Lakhsya Sen entered the semifinals of the men’s singles badminton. In a sport that has fetched a medal in each Olympic since 2012, a blank would have taken the sport to depths of frustration. With his is win against Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei, he became the first Indian male player to reach semifinal in Olympics. However, it was a heartbreak in archery as the mixed archery team faltered in the bronze medal play-off against the US. Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara lost 6-2 despite having a stellar start. “It’s very disappointing when you finish one step short of a medal. But finishing fourth, a first in Indian archery, is an improvement,” said Dhiraj. P11 Indian players celebrate after scoring a goal against Australia | PTI SIT PROBE PLEA REJECTED EXPRESS READ No roving probe into charges of quid pro quo on electoral bonds: SC Tenure of BSF DG, Special DG cut short S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a batch of pleas seeking a court-monitored SIT probe under the supervision of a retired SC judge into the scrapped electoral bonds scheme. A bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said it cannot order a roving inquiry into the purchase of electoral bonds on the assumption that there was a quid pro quo from award of contracts, when ordinary criminal law remedies had not been invoked. “The court entertained petitions challenging electoral bonds since there was an aspect of judicial review. But the cases involving criminal wrongdoing should not be under Article 32 when there are remedies available under the law,” the bench said. Article 32 allows citizens to approach the Supreme Court direct for enforcement of their fundamental rights under the Constitutional scheme. The court said it was open for the petitioners to take appropriate remedial measures under the normal course of law. “If their grievances are not investigated or closure report is filed, then they can approach the high courts or the Supreme Court,” the bench said. The bench also rejected pleas to direct the authorities to recover the donations received by political parties through electoral bonds and to re-open their income tax assessments. The bench said such remedies are available under the IT Act. “For the court to issue any such directions at this stage would amount to a conclusive opinion on disputed facts,” it reasoned. The bench was hearing four petitions, one filed jointly by NGOs Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), and three others by Dr Khem Singh Bhatti, Sudip Narayan Tamankar and Jai Prakash Sharma. The Centre on Friday removed BSF DG Nitin Agrawal and his deputy Special DG (West) YB Khurania, “prematurely repatriating” them to their respective state cadres with immediate effect, according to a government order. The repatriation of the two IPS officers come in the backdrop of a spate of terror incidents in Jammu region. Agrawal had taken charge as the BSF chief in June 2023 and was to retire in July 2026. Khurania is expected to be made the head of police force or the DGP in Odisha.